Which control method aims to reduce pest establishment, reproduction, dispersal, and survival through environmental management?

The correct answer is cultural applied control, which focuses on managing the environment to create conditions that are less conducive to pest establishment, reproduction, dispersal, and survival. This method encompasses practices like crop rotation, habitat modification, soil management, and the selection of pest-resistant plant varieties to alter the environment in ways that impede pest populations.

Cultural practices aim to minimize reliance on chemical controls by creating less favorable conditions for pests, essentially disrupting their life cycles and limiting their ability to thrive. Through these methods, an integrated approach is often taken to enhance the effectiveness of pest management strategies sustainably.

While mechanical/physical applied control methods involve direct physical removal of pests or barriers to prevent their access, biological applied control leverages natural predators or competitors, and pesticidal control uses chemicals to manage pest populations, these do not specifically aim to alter the environmental conditions to prevent future infestations in the same proactive way that cultural practices do.